


Just Another Day In Monster Falls

by SnowMercury



Series: Another Day In MonsterFalls [4]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-08
Updated: 2018-11-05
Packaged: 2019-07-28 05:35:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16235225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnowMercury/pseuds/SnowMercury
Summary: On a summer road trip, you stop at the Mystery Shack in Gravity Falls. You buy a bottle of water there. Things go horribly wrong.(Rated teen for swearing! Tags will be added for characters/relationships as story progresses)





	1. Hewwo?

“Are you alive?” The voice broke halfway through the word ‘you’ as a rough object poked your face. Something felt off, for more reasons than a complete stranger waking you up. The first issue was that you couldn’t..... Remember falling asleep. And it was certainly colder than you expected when you usually woke up.

 

Blinking open your eyes, the first thing you noticed was how different everything looked; brighter, less shadows. Was it later in the day? Or earlier, somehow? And next, you noticed who- more importantly, what- stood in front of you.

 

It was a centaur holding a stick. They were a centaur. Were you still dreaming? Thinking through your memories, you realized that you had remembered buying a water bottle at this tourist trap- it was summer, and you’d been planning to go on a road trip to as many tourist traps as you could, having always had an interest in the odd and unusual. Well, looks like you were getting more fuel for that interest.

 

“Am I- do I look dead?” You say, more bluntly than you intended, still shocked from seeing a centaur in front of you. A centaur. With feathers. Really. Maybe a deer-centaur you realize now that you weren’t as shocked? “What time is it?” You didn’t know how long you’d been passed out, but that could be the difference between this being simple heat exhaustion- had you not drunk the water soon enough?- and something serious that you needed to go to the hospital for.

 

“It’s eight at night. And I don’t think so? What do you remember last?” There was something in the way that they were acting, like they were trying blatantly to not stare. Suddenly, the time they listed hit you, and you started to try to push yourself up, heart racing with panic. It had been six in the afternoon last you had checked, you were on your way to your car to drive to a nearby hotel, but it was too late now, and- had you been passed out for all that time? In this state of panic, you saw something salmon-pink move out of the corner of your eye, and you snapped your head to look at it..... Only for it to move with you. What the fuck.

 

“Is this some kind of prank?” Had this kid found you and then, instead of helping the passed out person next to their car, decided to dress you up in some kind of weird costume? Now that you thought about it, you realized you felt like there were things stuck to the side of your face, on your back, on your fingers even. And there was something off with your teeth, they felt like two of them were jutting out at the front....

“If it is, it isn’t funny. I don’t like people touching me when I’m asleep and I don’t know, and I don’t even know why I passed out, I-“

 

You were fully standing now, but somehow you felt..... Shorter than you were. Lifting one hand to steady yourself against your car, the stranger moved forward as if wanting to help, but backed off once they realized they’d be invading your personal space and it seemed like you had it. What stopped you from talking, though, wasn’t anything the other had said, although it was a sound. A tapping sound when you had put your hand down on the side of your car.

 

You turned to look at your hand. It could be more aptly described as a _paw_ , now. Between your fingers was webbed, and a dark navy blue fur covered up your skin. Very distinct, very sharp claws were also present at the end of each of your fingers, including your thumb. And normally, you’d chalk it up to a costume from this prank, but the claws felt real. The webbing felt _real_. You could feel with it, and something about the fur didn’t look loose enough to be a costume. Fake nails were a possibility, but not one you think fit with everything else- especially not when you looked past your hand into the slight reflection you could see.

 

A large, rounded furry face was staring back at you, eyes wide. Small ears poked out towards the top, and symmetrical pink frills- the same pink as what you saw earlier- poked out on the side of your head. And the expression, the life in that face, matched how you were feeling exactly. You gave the fins an experimental wiggle. They moved. There was no way that should have worked, except through extreme cosmetic surgery and false prosthetics attached to nerve endings and muscles that didn’t even exist in the human face.

 

The deer-pegasus-taur cleared their throat, and you inclined your head towards them slightly as they spoke again.

“So, uh, you’re a freshwater siren now, I guess? Welcome to Gravity Falls. My name is Dipper Pines, and I’ve been working on breaking the curse.”

 

Seemed like your summer road trip just got a hell of a lot more interesting.


	2. Mystery Hack

The next half hour was a whirlwhind of new information. The centaur-sus-deer you had met, Dipper, was a peryton-taur. He was a twin to Mabel Pines, a young girl who had thrown a bunch of glitter on you when Dipper brought you back over to the shack. She was a kelpiecorn- a kelpie with a horn in her forehead. It looked extremely sharp and sparkly when you saw it, and your first thought was that you hope you never get stabbed with it.

Mr. Mystery apologized for turning you into a freshwater siren (the differences between freshwater and saltwater were not entirely apparent to you yet, you noted), and said you would get a full refund, plus that you could sleep in the guest room until you got your bearings. The former Mr. Mystery grumbled about it for a bit, but ultimately his graniblings managed to calm him down about it. Mostly. 

That was where you were now, with the one suitcase of things you would need over the next few days, sitting on an air mattress in a room with what seemed to be wax between the floorboards. Some of your clothes seemed like they wouldn’t be able to fit- especially now that you had discovered you also had a  _tail_ , something that most people do not have. Plus, the fin running along your spine made tight-fitting clothes vaguely uncomfortable. Still adjusting, you looked down at your hands, palms held up. Black pawpads looked up at you, reminding you vaguely of a cat. This would be difficult to adjust to. 

 

After a moment of sitting there in silence, you heard the sound of hooves trotting down the hallway towards the guest room’s door, stopping outside of yours. Another moment, and you heard a knock. 

“Come in,” you said, feeling like you would have much rather said nothing at all. The door creaked open, and Mabel was standing there, the teenager smiling. 

“So, I know this probably wasn’t you had planned for the next few days, but-not to sound creepy or anything, do you have anything you  _absolutely_ need to be at soon or attend? Because this magic is a bit of a doozy, and most of the town hasn’t been able to learn how to change back at all within the past year. Most of us don’t have any place out of town we absolutely have to go, so it’s okay, but you’re a tourist, so...”

Ah. So it was going to be a serious conversation. And you now had to think about your future. About what to do if this magic was too hard to control. This was too much. A bitter laugh escaped before you had time to think about it as you pull your legs up onto the air mattress, hugging them with your arms. “No. I was on a road trip- my second year of college is starting in the fall, and I was heading back up there. I- two months is enough to break it, right? Is that possible?”

Mabel grimaces, moving further into the room and sitting down on the floor. She rubs one of her arms with her hand, shoulders lifted slightly.

“Well........ I’m not gonna rule it out. But that might not be what happens. Soos- Mr. Mystery- broke his right away, but he still has to spend half the time as a slime monster, or else he gets super tired. That’s why the Mystery Shack is only open half the time. It never goes away completely.”

 

You can’t believe this. All because of this- that stupid water bottle. Your fur starts to puff up, a grimace of your own showing. “Because of one sip of water, my entire life is being overthrown. Great!” You throw your hands up, frustrated as you look away from Mabel, your tail curling around your legs as your arms settle back down in a self-hug again. Your face feels warm, and your vision starts to get blurry. At least you can still cry.

 

There’s a hand on your arm, and after a second of you not turning to face her, Mabel speaks again.

“If it helps, we didn’t mean for one of the river water bottles to get placed back out for sale. It wasn’t intentional, but it still happened and we all feel responsible for what happened. The Pines family is on the case!” You can feel the smile in her voice, and you nod, lifting one hand up to wipe your eyes. You look back to her and smile, still feeling a bit sad but not wanting to disappoint this kid who had nothing to do with this whole thing. She nods, leaning back again and resting her hands on her hips.

 

“Besides, if it does roll over, we have a local college here! My Grunkles Stan and Ford are professors there, along with some of the other locals. You can transfer there until we get your situation all figured out. Grunkle Ford has twelve PHDs. I don’t think you’ve met him yet; you’re going to meet him, though. He’s been doing a record of all the creatures people get turned into, and I don’t think someone’s turned into a freshwater siren yet! He can tell you about what foods to eat and avoid, whether you sleep at night or day or both, that sort of thing!” Mabel stands up as she finishes speaking, turning to leave the guest room. She gestures for you to follow her with one hand.

 

You stand up and follow, letting your tail drag on the floor after realizing it takes too much effort that you cannot handle right now to keep it lifted. “Better to get that over with sooner rather than later, huh.”

 

Mabel smiles back at you, shooting you a pair of fingerguns. “Absolutely!“

As you both head out into the hallway, Dipper speaks from the living room, not even looking up from his book.

 

“Wendy almost had an allergic reaction to wolfsbane before she realized she was a werewolf.You do NOT want a repeat of that.” You realize his ears are like a deer’s. Could he hear everything you and Mabel talked about? Ugh. Your own rounded ears pull back- not that there’s much of them. They seem to take after an otter’s.

 

“So where is this Dr. Pines?” Mabel giggles, her own ears flicking back. You glance at her, confused. That was his name, right? Their last name was Pines, and they were related, so it was as good a guess as any.

 

She composes herself. “It’s just funny to hear someone talk about him so formally. He’s probably out in the forest, but he’ll be back soon. It’s right around the time he gets back, anyways.” The front door opens, and someone walks in.

 

They’re tall, and wearing a knitted red sweater. Among their other features are a pair of dazzling wings, sharp claws, a tail, and a pair of rounded ears, larger than your own. Their eyes are yellow and slitted like a cat’s while they look down at a red book with a six-fingered hand decal.

“Mabel, Dipper, have either of you seen my set of magic stones? I found a new possible avenue to summon the unicorns’ realm in the forest, that should cut down on-“

They had looked up during their sentence, but cut off when they noticed you. Their previously flicking tail froze, and their wings tensed as well. “Have you two brought.... A friend from the forest to play?”

 

Dipper set his book down, and shook his head. “Guess what snuck into the water bottle stack for sale in the shop.”

 

The stranger frowned, eyebrows scrunched together. “I thought we got rid of all of the contaminated bottles.” Their tail started lashing again.

 

Mabel shook her head this time. “Nope. A bottle got through somehow, and now we’ve got a new guest staying at the shack! Grunkle Ford, this is (your name). (Your name), this is Grunkle Ford!” You hold one paw-hand out to shake his paw-hand. While doing so, you notice that his hand seems to be wider than most, and it isnt for a few moments that you realize it’s because he has six digits. Was that a result of the water, or from before? Either way, you’re sure it would be rude to ask.

 

“Nice to meet you, Dr. Pines. Mabel says you’re a professor?” However, that doesn’t mean you can’t ask about schooling. It’s on your mind, now.

 

Dr. Pines nods, lifting up his book to gesture to it. “I teach classes in Contemporary Myths and Legends, Biology, and Art at Gravity Falls Community College. I take it you’re still a student?”

 

You nod. “On my way up to Washington for my second year before the whole, transformation thing.” Hopefully transferring would be easy. Part of why you were so early driving up was that you wanted to sign up for classes as soon as possible; too much later and you wouldn’t have had guaranteed wifi to use. “Is GFCC still accepting transfer students?”

 

Dr. Pines nods. “We should be, just make sure to get your transcript in in the next three weeks.” He’s looking down at the book again, flipping through the pages until he lands on what he was looking for. He seems utterly resigned at what he sees there. “I don’t have all my notes on freshwater sirens ready, but I’ll get them to you by the morning. Good night Dipper, Mabel.” Ford walks out into the gift shop, pausing as he’s about to leave the room. “Bye.” That was directed at you, as far as you can guess. Mabel nods once, and you have to keep yourself from flinching at the large pointed horn on her head moving with her.

 

“Okay! Now that Grunkle Ford is working on it, my job here is done for now because it has been a long day and I think that sleep is important!” She pulls Dipper’s book out of his hands with a ‘yoink’ and slips a super glittery bookmark in to save his place. He looks dismayed but resigned as he sighs and stand up.

 

Not wanting to intrude, you head back to the guest room after saying good night to Dipper and Mabel. Hopefully tomorrow won’t be as exciting as today.


	3. h e w w o

Bright light shining down on your face, you blearily blink your eyes open. The blanket under your head (one that had swiftly replaced your pillow as you tried to prevent a crick in your neck in the morning as sleeping on your side or back proved nearly impossible) felt like the softest thing in the world, and you hugged it tighter. It was too early to get up- what time it is is a mystery, but whatever it is is too early.

 

The sound of someone with hooves walking past your door reminded you that you couldn’t stay in bed forever. Other people expected you to be up and coherent at some point of the day before noon. And, as nice of the Pines as it was to let you stay here temporarily, you still wanted to look at apartments in town. GFCC didn’t offer dorms, after all, and staying here forever wasn’t an option.

 

Pushing yourself up, you stretch out, trying to wake yourself up as much as you can. The unsettling feeling of your fins moving and spreading out is enough to make you feel awake enough to get dressed for the day.

 

Glancing at the dresser, you notice a new addition on top of it- a light blue sweater with a dark red clef note on it. Baffled as to where it could have come from, you slip it on over your head- and are shocked to find out it fits perfectly, with some sort of stitch that fits over the sail fin on your back snugly. Searching your mind, you realize you’d seen Mabel working on a knitted project yesterday that had the same light blue color, but knitting this, as far as you know it, would take weeks or even months. She had no way of knowing, unless someone in town had the ability to see the future or something, in which case you hope she would have warned you about the water.

 

After you finish getting dressed, you make a note to try to adjust your pants in a similar way to the sweater, because too many more days of that uncomfortable feeling of wearing pants while having a tail would be exceedingly frustrating.

 

________________________________

 

Breakfast goes well, as you’re invited to eat with the Pines. Dr. Pines says that fish are probably a safe bet as edible, as are other kinds of meat or protein, so you have hardboiled eggs to eat. Going without food last night means you’re famished today, and you eat at least four. During this, Mabel announces that everybody is going to the lake today. Dipper is about to excuse himself when Mabel also announces that it is completely mandatory, and that finding a cure to everybody’s curse can wait for a day when you’ve been looking for months, Dipper. As much as you’d like to protest that, Dipper has had his head in one book or another every single time you’ve seen him, except when he was introducing himself. You aren’t even entirely sure he slept last night. So you agree to come along, hoping that he’ll end up taking a nap on the beach or something- plus, maybe you’ll be able to see what swimming is like with a tail and fins.

 

After everybody arrives at the lake, you look around, taking stock in what you can see and what seems to be the most populated areas. There’s a few werewolves playing in the surf, a phoenix tinkering with some shiny thing away from the water, and a european-styled dragon that’s just tackled someone into the water. A few boats are out on the lake, although there’s just as many unidentified things swimming around under the water as there seems to be above. Overall, it seems to be utterly crowded today, and you feel like the Pines deserve some time alone without some practical stranger nearby. So you walk down the beach, starting towards the other side of the lake.

 

It is a long walk. And wearing both a sweater and having fur don’t make the situation any easier to handle. Exceedingly frustrated, you pause and turn to look at the water. It reflects the sky overhead, rippling, leaving you unable to see what’s underneath. You’re a siren, right? That means you can swim, probably. Dr. Pines would have said something if you couldn’t...... Probably.

 

So you dive into the water. It seems almost like instinct, how to slip through the waves, and navigate the currents. You open your eyes, the terrain at the bottom of the lake clearly visible, and realize you’ve moved even further than you thought you had. And the oddest thing of all, you don’t even feel like you need to take a breath.

 

Spotting a small cave opening, you pause, send a glance back towards the shore, and then look back to the cave. It couldn’t hurt to investigate...

 

As you start diving down towards it, you’re blindsided by someone dashing through your path, and feel yourself tumble through the water, righting yourself as soon as possible. In front of you is an orange furred creature with a long neck, fins, a tail- generally looking aquatic. Another freshwater siren? You’re confused- you’d thought nobody else in town had been turned into one.

 

The scales on their fins light up a deep blue, and they tilt their head as if asking a question. You blink. They start to look concerned, and tilt their head the other direction, the glow taking on a more green tint of blue. How are they doing that? Is that something you can do, too? Something seems to come to their mind and their eyes widen as their head rears back in shock. They look up towards the surface of the lake, and then back at you, before swimming upwards. You figure that means they want you to follow, and sure, you can do that.

 

Breaking the surface water, you take a deep breath of air, and the stranger waits a second while you get used to the air again before they speak.

“Do you not have your Song yet? Were you changed by the- where are my manners, sorry, I’m David. But can you do the humlights?”

 

That was abrupt, but you guess they know more about freshwater sirens than you do, although they seem to have a pair of horns more than you do.

“I’m (name), and no, I can’t do the- humlights? And I guess there’s more to a song than just.... Singing?” Which is something you realize you haven’t done since you drank the water. That’s something to experiment with at some point.

 

David gapes at you, almost falling back underwater in shock as he pauses in his treading. “Oh my god. You’re a new siren. This must be why Ford contacted me, I- Hi! I’m guessing it was the streamwater that turned you, but this is amazing, nobody else was turned into a freshwater siren or any kind of siren and do you want to learn about what it means to be a siren and how to do the humlights! And do you want somebody to help you find your song because if so I can unless you don’t want me to because then I can help you find someone else if you still want to learn and I just! This is so exciting!”

 

The long stream of words is accompanied with David moving around in the water, splashing it at some point. You don’t really know what’s going on here, but you feel like that’s going to be the rest of your time in Gravity Falls. “Could- should I even be learning about that stuff if I’m only temporarily a siren?”

 

David blinks, calming down as the mood sobers. “It’s cursed information so if anybody who isn’t a siren tries to hear about it, you only hear static. If you turn back, you’ll just forget about it unless you write it down, and a lot of siren magic is sound based- or through illusory magic that can’t really be replicated in art or photos or writing. So don’t worry about that! If you want to learn, you can. I’d be honored to teach you, if you want me to.”

 

This all seems like a lot, but you do think that it would be good not to unknowingly offend a siren if you happen to meet one other than the one in front of you. Not to mention that your summer plans have recently been canceled, so why not?

“Is it okay if I think about it?”

 

David nods, his fins hitting the water. “Of course. Choosing who to learn from is a big decision. It shows who you trust enough to teach you fact and not fiction, who you believe will cover everything and be prepared enough to do so- oh! Speaking of teaching, are you enrolled at GFCC? I’m one of the substitute professors there, or I teach a class sometimes- Stan Pines is super good with forgeries, if you ever need one!”

 

You’re slightly taken aback, shocked at everything you’re hearing still- this David sure likes to speak, huh? Especially about crime, apparently. You manage to nod, and David continues.

 

“Good! Well, I’m supposed to be meeting For- Dr. Pines here, so I’ll leave you alone for now. Careful exploring the bottom of the lake though, those caves can get hard to navigate, even with night vision. Have fun!” He nods once and flares his fins for a moment, a soft blue glow showing for a moment. What did that mean? Was that the humlights? You watch as he leaves in the direction of shore, feeling a bit overwhelmed as you let yourself just start to sink into the water.

 

You wonder if there’s going to be any other big surprises in your life anytime soon, and idly hope not.


End file.
